Chapter 29: Careful Calculation by Zhang Dahe

“Hey, your wife, come out and take a look!”

Meng Liang burst into the yard excitedly, shouting inside like a little kid.

“What’s got you so happy?” Shen Yun opened the door, startled by the deer head Meng Shiqiao was holding.

“Oh my, what is that?”

Shen Yun hesitated a moment before stepping forward.

“Mom, this is a deer head!”

Hearing her son say that, she wasn’t as scared anymore.

“Did you actually shoot a deer?”

Her expression was exactly the same as Meng Liang’s earlier.

“Yes, Erwa shot it. He’s really something now!” Meng Ling said with a smile.

Meng Liang laughed, “When I first saw it, I was just like you—couldn’t believe it!”

At that moment, Aunt Zhang overheard their conversation in the yard and shouted, “Yun sister, your kid shot a deer?”

Shen replied, “Yeah, it was a foolish spotted deer that practically ran into the arrow!”

“What kind of deer is that dumb? Let me see!”

What was going on with their family? One day they were eating rabbits, the next day wild chickens, and now a deer? Soon the whole village would be smelling their delicious food all the time.

Because their kitchen was close, the smells always wafted over to their place, making Aunt Zhang’s family suffer the smell without tasting it—a terribly frustrating situation.

Soon Aunt Zhang arrived at the yard gate, moving surprisingly fast.

As she entered the yard, she saw the deer head on the ground. At first she was a bit scared, but seeing so many people around, she relaxed and approached.

“Oh wow, it really is a deer. The last time I saw one was at Hunter Zhang Qingsong’s house, must’ve been over ten years ago.”

“That must be worth a lot, right? Last time I bought half a jin of deer meat for thirty wen. If it weren’t for my husband wanting to try it, I wouldn’t have dared to buy.”

Her eyes fixed greedily on the deer meat in the basket. She envied them—her kids never had such skills and just stayed home all day.

Seeing her gaze, Meng Ling said, “Aunt Zhang, if you give me thirty wen today, I’ll cut you one jin!”

Hearing this good deal, Aunt Zhang quickly asked, “Big girl, are you serious?”

Meng Ling smiled and nodded, “Of course I am!”

Seeing Meng Ling agree, Aunt Zhang hesitated and said, “Okay, I’ll ask my man.”

Although Aunt Zhang was lazy, when it came to spending money, she always asked her husband first.

Soon the couple arrived. Zhang Dahe still remembered the taste of the last deer meat he ate and kept talking about it.

City prices were much higher; only villagers got these prices.

He happily gave thirty wen, and Meng Ling cut a big chunk—about one and a half jin.

They both knew he paid a little extra and smiled happily.

“Oh, this big girl is thoughtful!”

Aunt Zhang said, laughing as she took the meat home.

—-

Back at home, Zhang Dahe quietly said, “Guihua, take one jin of meat to the village chief’s house. You can probably exchange it for fifty or sixty wen.”

Aunt Zhang smiled and nodded, “Okay, I’ll go right now.”

Zhang Dahe warned, “Don’t let anyone see!”

—-

Meng Liang carried the meat inside and started preparing it. Shen assisted, while Meng Ling busied herself in the kitchen.

Meng Shiqiao tended the fire by the stove. “Big sis, I just heard Dad say deer meat tastes really good. He’s eaten it once before.”

“Mm, it’s delicious. There’s so much meat; you’ll be full for sure!” Meng Ling laughed.

She was little back then and had no impression of deer meat—only her parents knew what it tasted like.

Meng Liang finished handling the deer meat. The meal was ready with four dishes on the table.

First: stir-fried deer meat
Second: braised deer meat
Third: deer meat stir-fried with cabbage
Fourth: deer bone mushroom soup

—-

“Sis, this meat is so tasty! Can we eat it every day?”

Meng Qingqing asked innocently.

“Sure, every day,” Meng Ling replied.

Meng Shiqiao happily said, “Sis, this stir-fried deer meat is delicious, so tender, and has a light sweetness.”

Meng Liang picked up a large piece of braised deer meat and ate heartily, “Mm, this deer meat is fresh, tender, and tasty!”

Meng Ling said, “This is from the shank—braising is best for it.”

Shen took a sip of the soup, “Mm, this mushroom soup is tasty too, fresh and sweet.”

Meng Ling also tried it; the meat was delicate and tender, soft in texture, rich in flavor, leaving a lingering taste.

The whole family focused on eating, only looking up when grabbing more food.

—-

The morning sun was just right. Meng Ling saw the icicles under the eaves and remembered a poem:
“At first I suspected jade dragons had descended to earth, all clawing at the thatched eaves.”

Meng Liang was carrying a bamboo basket, preparing to leave.

“The mountain roads are slippery and steep; be careful!” Shen Yun reminded from behind.

“I will,” Meng Liang replied.

He was carrying the deer meat to town to sell. The county roads were frozen and impassable, so he hoped to sell some in town.

The village only sold a few jin, and incomes weren’t great these past two years—everyone was short on money.

They kept twenty jin of meat for themselves—enough to eat—and decided to sell the rest for cash to buy other things.

Shen took ten jin to sell in the village.

—-

Early in the morning, Meng Shiqiao was busy with the deer head, carefully trimming the meat. He said he had seen one like it hanging on the wall at Hunter Zhang’s house and thought it looked nice.

Meng Ling didn’t see what was so nice about it—looking at it in the middle of the night was scary. She told him to hang it in his room if he wanted.

“You have to boil it in a pot to remove the fat, or it’ll smell bad!” Meng Ling warned.

“Remove the fat?”

“Sis, what does that mean?” Meng Shiqiao asked, puzzled.

She forgot that he wouldn’t understand this phrase since there was no such term there.

“It means to get rid of the grease. You have to clean the meat and boil it for half an hour so it doesn’t smell.”

“Oh, I’ll boil it after I finish!”

Seeing how serious he was about it—more than his arrow practice—Meng Ling wondered what was so interesting about it.

—-

As the sun rose, the ice and snow started melting. Water dripped slowly from the eaves, and by noon it looked like rain, with drops almost forming streams.

“Sigh, this fresh meat probably won’t last. We’ll have to eat cured meat.”

Meng Ling began curing some meat. The last batch of pork had about three jin left hanging by the fire, now dried.

“Cured deer meat.”

She never thought she’d get to eat cured deer meat.

She cut the deer meat into small strips, strung them with grass rope, and marinated them for half a day before hanging them over the fire to smoke.

She knew smoking meat couldn’t be rushed—too much fire spoiled the taste. Ten to fifteen days drying was best.

—–

In the afternoon, Meng Shiqiao was boiling the deer head in the kitchen while Meng Ling hung the cured meat.

“Sis, is this cured meat?”

“Yes, if you don’t smoke cured meat, it’ll spoil!”

Meng Shiqiao felt like his sister knew everything. How come he wasn’t like her, born of the same parents?

It didn’t make sense!

—-

In the afternoon, Meng Liang returned from town, bringing several candied hawthorns and some items for the New Year.

“Candied hawthorns!”

Meng Shiqiao grabbed one first and bit into it with a crunch. The sourness made him squint, but the second bite was better.

“You’re such a glutton, not thinking to bring any for your sister and Qingqing!” Meng Liang scolded.

“I’m bringing some to them!”

Meng Shiqiao quickly handed one to each.

“Sis, Qingqing’s eating candied hawthorns now.”

—-

After dinner, Meng Liang gathered everyone to the table and took a package from the bamboo basket.

“This is the money from selling the meat today!” He emptied all the coins into a dustpan.

“Wow, that’s a lot of money!” Meng Shiqiao grabbed two handfuls.

Shen’s face twitched in excitement, “This is the first time in my life I’ve seen so much money!”

Meng Ling wasn’t as dramatic but was happy too.

This was expected. Compared to honey, deer meat was relatively cheap.

“In total, we sold 1,653 wen, of which 1,500 wen is here.”